Target Earth FAQ/Guide (Sega Genesis)
6/13/2005 v1.1
dammit9x at hotmail dot com
Copyright 2005
This document may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for
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distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on
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------------------------------
Contents
* Introduction
* Gameplay
Controls
Gravity
Gameplay Mechanics
Lives
Weapons
Bonuses
* Option Mode
* Weapons List
* Mission Walkthrough
* Secrets
* Japanese Version Differences
* Closing
------------------------------
* Introduction
#### This guide has NO story-related spoilers. ####
| |
| IT BEGAN WHEN |
| |
| EARTH'S OUTCASTS |
| |
| RETURNED FROM THE |
| |
| DARKEST REACHES OF |
| |
| SPACE. |
| |
| THEY ATTACKED THE |
| |
| PLANET AND ALL HER |
| |
| GALACTIC OUTPOSTS |
| |
| WITH LIGHTING |
| |
| FURY. |
| |
| THE EARTH DEFENSE |
| |
| LEAGUE FOUGHT FOR |
| |
| EARTH'S SURVIVAL |
| |
| WITH WARRIORS OUT- |
| |
| FITTED IN GIGANTIC |
| |
| CYBORG BATTLE |
| |
| ARMOR. |
| |
| THE BATTLE BEGAN |
| |
| ON GANYMEDE... |
| |
* Gameplay
Controls:
D-pad: Controls aiming and movement. See aiming mode for details.
A button: Fire selected weapon.
B button: Jump. Hold to jump higher. Also uses B-PACK if it's in your inventory.
C button: Select next weapon if enabled in option mode. Otherwise does nothing.
Start: Pauses game and shows weapon selection.
Gravity:
Most levels have normal gravity, which means you walk and jump around
normally. Some levels are lo-grav, so you can move in any direction with the
D-pad and the jump button doesn't do anything. Also some weapons are affected
by gravity. Lo-grav levels tend to have lots of wide open space, which gives
you more room to maneuver.
Gameplay mechanics:
There are no power-ups or ammo refills to be found during the levels.
However, damage taken is gradually and automatically healed over time; about
one bar every three seconds. It's important to hang back when hurt in order to
heal. Also, in most levels you will be supported by friendly assault suits or
other help. While they aren't all that aggressive, they are still helpful by
distracting the enemy and absorbing damage for you.
Something to keep in mind is that explosions from enemies blowing up can hurt
you and other robots. Sometimes enemies spout a great plume of flame when
exploding. Therefore you should try to take out enemies from a safe distance
when possible.
Whenever you see enemies coming on screen at random and attacking, there will
also be allied suits (the ones in brown) arriving to help from time to time,
though in smaller numbers. Some areas have no random enemies.
Lives:
If you die or fail a critical objective, it's "Game Over." You can continue
from the main menu two times. You can also continue if you reset the game
during play, though this also costs you a continue. Dying does not cause you to
lose your items.
Weapons:
When starting a mission, you choose up to six weapons to take. You may take
more than one of the same type. Some of these are actually support items rather
than weapons. All of the weapons except for the LG-GUN and HG-GUN have limited
ammo. You can reuse weapons from level to level, even if you spent all the ammo.
See the Weapons List for details.
Bonuses:
Upon finishing a mission you will be shown the points earned. Points come
from killing enemies, and most levels also have a special bonus that is given
at the end. See the walkthrough for details. The number of weapons you get
depends on the total points you earned, including the level bonus.
* Option Mode
GAME LEVEL: NORMAL
HARD
HYPER
I'm not sure what the precise differences between the levels are, but you can
see for yourself that even normal is pretty hard.
C BUTTON: WEAPON SELECT
CANCEL
If enabled this lets you cycle weapons with the C button, without going to the
inventory screen.
AIMING MODE: A TYPE
B TYPE
A type points your weapon in whatever direction you push the D-pad.
B type lets you control the aim by tapping or holding up and down on the D-pad.
Both are pretty clumsy, as the gun takes time to swivel around. In lo-grav
levels they are practically the same.
Note that you can change modes during gameplay by pausing, then pressing A, B
and C together.
PAD RESET: ENABLE
CANCEL
If enabled you can reset to the main menu by holding A, B and C then pressing
start.
SOUND TEST MODE
You can hear the sound effects and music from the game.
DATA ROOM
Shows records for each of the 8 missions. This information is not saved when
you turn off the power.
* Weapons List
LG-GUN 20 Ammo
This is a rapid fire gun that shoots plain bullets. When the clip is empty it
reloads automatically after about 1 second. Since this is practically the only
weapon with unlimited ammo, it may seem like a bad idea to go without it.
However, after the first level, you probably won't need it until level 6.
HG-GUN 20 Ammo
This is an upgraded LG-GUN with increased power. Like the LG-GUN it has
infinite reloads. Too bad you don't get it till the last level.
25-SC 60 Ammo
This is a shotgun that shoots 3 bullets in a spread pattern. Rapid fire. An
efficient way to kill weak enemies is to get up close (but not too close) and
blast once with the 25-SC. Also good when you need to hit those turrets without
getting too close.
40-SC 50 Ammo
Upgraded 25-SC which does more damage.
GL 50 Ammo
This fires grenades that arc except in lo-grav levels. If the capsules hit
the ground they spread three explosions around. Powerful but the rate of fire
is low.
MGL 45 Ammo
Upgraded GL which does more damage.
150BZ 50 Ammo
This bazooka fires medium power shots at a medium rate.
203BZ 40 Ammo
Upgraded 150BZ which does more damage.
MISSILE 50 Ammo
This fires homing missiles. It has medium power and persistent homing ability
but low firing rate and slow speed. Homing missiles are considerably more
useful in lo-grav levels because there are no walls for them to run into, and
if one enemy is destroyed they can pursue another. They are also useful against
bosses.
M-POD 50 Ammo
Upgraded MISSILE which has both a higher rate of fire and increased power.
Essential on the later levels.
E-AS 70 Ammo
This shoots fast blue beams, and can only be fired horizontally. Extremely
rapid fire but the shots have low power. Seems to miss a lot, and the ammo is
quickly depleted. Overall this weapon is powerful but hard to aim, which
makes it a good substitute for D-D.
E-CN 55 Ammo
Upgraded E-AS with more power, but note the reduction in ammo.
D-D 30 Ammo
This shoots a pellet that travels a fixed distance then explodes, releasing
four clouds of shrapnel which sink slowly. The shrapnel does damage
continuously for a few seconds, though the pellet itself does no damage.
Extremely low rate of fire. Useful against stationary bosses and worthless
against normal enemies. You'll forget all about it once you get M.PODs though.
BLAST 10 Ammo
This is a strange weapon that shoots small spinning missiles. I really don't
understand what it's for.
SHIELD 1 Ammo
Rex holds a shield in front, which reduces the damage taken by half.
ARMOR 1 Ammo
Extends your health by 4 bars. You have 16 bars without any armor, and up to
32 bars with four suits of armor.
B-PACK 1 Ammo
When you are carrying this, you can hold the jump button while airborne to
provide some additional upward thrust. The effect is a moderately increased
vertical range and greatly increased horizontal range for your jumps. Can be
used as much as you want without running out. Really only useful for mission 4.
* Mission Walkthrough
Note: I have listed the bonus weapons in the order I received them, but I have
observed two variants for some of the levels. Both sets are shown, when
applicable. Also, it may be possible to get more weapons than I did, if your
score is higher.
STAGE1: Assault on Ganymede
You start with LG-GUN, 25-SC and D-D available. Be sure to take all of them.
After a certain amount of time, you will be told of the approaching warship.
The ship starts at the far right of the map (56 miles away from the base) and
approaches at about 1 mile per second. To finish the level you must destroy the
warship. D-D works well for this purpose.
Bonus: 500 x miles from base when the warship was destroyed
Bonus Weapons:
GL ARMOR 150BZ
STAGE2: Escape
The objective is to evacuate the base. The escape shuttle appears when you
reach the far right of the map. Your bonus depends on how many friendlies
(worker bots and brown assault suits) make it onto the shuttle. The shuttle
leaves immediately when you get in, but you can wait around at the shuttle and
more friendlies will show up. During this time, the shuttle will be providing
covering fire. 60 seconds after opening the hatch, the captain says "Hurry up."
60 seconds after that, the hatch closes. Be sure to get in before then.
Bonus: 600 x friendlies rescued
Bonus weapons:
MISSILE MGL 25-SC 150BZ
STAGE3: Orbital Attack
This is the first lo-grav level. In this stage, going too far down into the
atmosphere will cause you and other robots take damage. The objective is to
destroy the enemy warship, which is at the right side of the map. It is well
defended by turrets and enemies, so take your time and be careful. The total
mission time is 300 seconds. After destroying the warship you need to fend off
the enemies until there are 60 seconds left.
At that time, your next objective is to return to one of the three shuttles.
The bonus depends on how many seconds were left when you entered the the
shuttle. Don't enter too early because this leaves the shuttle almost
defenseless, and it won't survive the enemy attacks. Don't be too late or
you'll be left behind. At about the 30 second mark, give or take, enemies will
stop coming. That is the best time to get in.
Bonus: 600 x seconds remaining when you entered the shuttle
Bonus weapons:
B-PACK 40-SC M.POD 40-SC
GL
D-D E-AS B-PACK 40-SC
M.POD
STAGE4: Front Line Assault
The B-PACK is recommended for this level. First, drop down to the earth. Then
keep moving to the far right. It is hard to fight in the water, so try to hover
over it. When the hatch is opened for you at the end, go in and move to the
bottom of the base.
When you enter the base, an unseen timer is started which will affect your
score for the level, although there is no penalty for running out of time.
Shotgun weapons are useful against the annoying turrets here, but don't stick
around to kill them. Try to keep moving. Long jumps and hovering with the
B-PACK are useful for avoiding the red beam traps. Be careful: about halfway
down there is a drop towards the left that leads to a trap you can't escape
without the B-PACK. To be safe, stick to the right until you get a feel for the
layout.
At the bottom you need to destroy the boss, which is a big spinning turbine.
Shoot the top part of the hub to damage it, but watch out as it lobs grenades
at you. Homing missiles kill it very fast.
Bonus: 600 x seconds remaining when you destroyed the boss
Bonus weapons:
MISSILE ARMOR M.POD MGL
40-SC GL MISSILE ARMOR
M.POD
STAGE5: Surprise Attack
In this mission you simply wander around and kill enemies for about 120
seconds. As usual, enemies come from the right and allies from the left. After
that time, a boss (who is invincible) will come and attack you, but the mission
ends quickly.
Bonus: 400 x enemies killed
Bonus weapons:
MGL 40-SC 203BZ
STAGE6: Headquarter Blitz
This is like stage 4 but longer and much more difficult. You may want to
bring along the LG-GUN, because you will need to do a lot of shooting. First
get the the right side of the map. About halfway across, at the bottom of the
canyon, there will be a huge barrier generator machine that you need to take
out. It is very well defended with grenade launchers, but you can fire at it
while its guns are off screen. Continuing to the right, you need to climb up
the canyon walls. You may be able to hide under the cliffs for awhile when you
need to regenerate life. From time to time a friendly bot may come to help but
you are mainly on your own here. At the far right side, the door will be opened
for you to enter the base.
This base has less platforming and more enemies than the stage 4 base. The
enemies will keep coming, and there are more red beam traps to avoid. You may
even encounter some friendlies in here. Use the same strategy as before: when
you find cover, stop to heal. Never stop at a broad flat area or you will only
exchange hits with the enemies.
At the end you will encounter a boss which you must defeat. He attacks by
shooting bullets which pause overhead briefly then move toward your position.
He will also claw you at close range. To damage it you must hit the head, which
requires jumping or using homing missiles.
For this level and the remaining levels, take it slow and easy, and don't
worry about bonuses.
Bonus: No bonus available.
Bonus weapons:
ARMOR 203BZ E-AS
STAGE7: Space Colony Smash
This level starts out lo-grav. Head to the right (watch out for mines) and
blast the hatch to enter the colony area, where gravity is normal. Pass through
and try to destroy the egg-shaped canisters. There are 19 in this area and they
are pretty hard to miss. There are plenty of places where you can take cover
behind buildings to heal. Keep going and you will find another hatch, beyond
which is lo-grav again.
Here you have to destroy the boss, a huge warship. Watch out for its exhaust
streams, which are pointing to the left. Approach from above or below to avoid
them. The ship is bristling with lasers and cannons, and also defended by mini
mechs. M.POD makes this battle a piece of cake. This level is easier than
level 6.
Bonus: 400 x pods destroyed
Bonus weapons:
M.POD HG-GUN SHIELD E-CN
ARMOR
STAGE8: The Final Conflict
This is a lo-grav level. I recommend you take the HG-GUN, an M.POD, the
SHIELD, and at least two ARMORs. You start off in the middle of the allied
fleet. Head to the right and eventually you will meet up with the enemy fleet.
You can destroy the cannons on the large stationary ships, but not the ships
themselves, though it's best to just keep moving. All the way to the right you
will find the flagship and you will be attacked by a boss. Do him enough damage
and you will enter the ship.
This base is much bigger but not as difficult as the previous two. It is also
lo-grav inside here. You start at the upper left and must make it to the lower
right, but there are lots of dead ends, and many, many turrets. When you have
to choose between going right or going down, try to go down. Remember that you
can take as much time as you need to regenerate life when you reach safe spots.
At the end there is a boss who attacks with rapid fire missiles that go
horizontally, and with a long beam he swings around himself. M.POD gets the job
done quickly.
Now in the next room is a second boss. He attacks by spawning little droids
which shoot fireballs. They are not so tough but they just keep coming, even if
you run away. The boss is protected by a blue barrier. Blast the barrier enough
times and it will disappear. Then shoot at the guy standing behind there. The
way I did it was by moving in a clockwise circle around the room, firing off
shots with the M.POD or HG-GUN whenever I was pointing at the boss. In this way
you can dodge the droids' fire while hitting the enemy.
Bonus: No bonus available.
Bonus weapons:
E-CN ARMOR (if you missed them before)
* Secrets
This section is copied from the Secrets page of Gamefaqs.com.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All Weapons
Do not collect any bonus weapons or destroy anything except the ship at the end
of the first level. Your score after the level is completed should be more than
2,800 points.
Contributed By: Vengeance
Control the Logo
Press A + C + (Left or Right) on the second controller at the logo screen. Use
the D-pad, A, and C to change the size and rotation of the logo.
Contributed By: Vengeance
Invincibility
Durind the game press Start on controller two and you should be invincible
Contributed By: Mike Truitt
Nine Lives
Begin playing the game and get past level 2. After it's over, enter the options
screen and press Start. A woman will appear and say ''Continue Up'' to confirm
correct code entry. This may be repeated at any time if your lives have dropped
below three.
Contributed By: Vengeance
Two Players
Wait until the first green alien appears on the right side of the screen in the
first level. Press Start on controller two. One player can control the normal
robot while the other player controls the enemy robot.
Contributed By: Vengeance
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Japanese Version Differences
The Japanese version is known as "Assault Suits Leynos." The main menu and
the option screen are in English, while the in-game dialogue is in Japanese.
There seems to be more dialogue between the main character and his allies, and
some parts were taken out of the American version. For example, there is a grim
scene at the end of level 3, and in level 6 Rex makes a remark when the pilot
opens the door to the base.
The first part of the intro description is different, reading:
| |
| IT BEGAN WHEN |
| |
| EARTH'S OUTCASTS |
| |
| RETURNED IN GREAT |
| |
| WARSHIPS FROM THE |
| |
| DARKEST REACHES OF |
| |
| SPACE. |
| |
As far as the game mechanics go, the two versions are the same, and the
Japanese version is fully playable if you don't know Japanese.
There is a sequel to this game for the Sega Saturn, "Assault Suits Leynos 2,"
which was only released in Japan.
Also of interest is the game Juusou Kihei Valken (Assault Suits Valken) for
SNES, also developed by NCS. An English translation has been released by the
group AGTP, and a FAQ/Guide has been released by me.
* Closing
Credit goes to the people who submitted the secrets given above.
This document is my own work. Any questions, comments, corrections or
complaints should be addressed to the address below, with clear indication in
the subject line that the email is concerning this FAQ.
Given that I prefer to write for obscure titles, I enjoy hearing from people
who read my guides. If you've played the game and used the FAQ, feel free to
drop me a line and tell me what you think.
dammit9x at hotmail dot com